Weekend: Halloween Time at Disneyland

The Haunted Mansion dons its "Nightmare" look (plus lots more eeks).

Halloween Time Begins: If you thought the spookiest holiday was still a wicked ways off, ponder this: Disneyland Resort is starting the frightful festivities on Friday, Sept. 9. This means that the Haunted Mansion is wearing its "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas" finery, yes, and that Mickey's Halloween Party, the select-night costume-up to-do is on the way. And will there be pumpkins out along Main Street and Disney villains glowering (good-naturedly) at guests? You got it, Grim Grinning Ghost fans. 

Long Beach Lobster Festival: The ninth month of the year and the donning of plastic bibs is forever entwined in many a Southern Californian's mind, and for fine reason: September is when a few of the big lobster fests unfurl. This one's at Rainbow Lagoon, the steamed lobster arrives with the classic trimmings, and dancing, karaoke, and more after-lobster-eating-ing shall go down. The dates? This is a three-dayer, from Friday, Sept. 9 through Sunday, Sept. 11. 

Surf Dog Surf-a-Thon: Cheer on foam-riding pups as they help out other pups at the Helen Woodward Animal Center fundraiser. The dogs'll be salty in Del Mar, but you don't need to register your own Lassie to hang ten (er, twenty). There are vendors to browse, an agility course for the furry ones, and an on-the-land costume contest. And if you dig surfing dogs, hang tight: Huntington Beach's annual to-do is in a few weeks. But up next? The Surf Dog Surf-a-Thon catches a wave on Sunday, Sept. 11.

Public Star Party: September 2016 is quite the eclipse-y month, with a solar eclipse kicking things off on Sept. 1 and a penumbral lunar eclipse arriving on Sept. 16. If this has your thoughts turning skyward, you, and your wallet, are in luck: The next free look-up lark at Griffith Observatory is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 10. It's not an eclipse-filled night, but count on learning some cool things about the cosmos (and seeing them, too, through the on-site telescopes).

PaleyFest Fall TV Preview: If you know PaleyFest, you know that the small-screen spectacular lands in the springtime (and includes panels featuring stars and creative honchos talking about beloved series). The September outing of the festival is all about shows on the horizon, those fresh titles and stories just revving up at the gate. A few already-on-the-air shows, like "The Mindy Project," will get a night on The Paley Center for Media stage, too. The Sept. 8 through 15 schedule? It's right here.

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